[DogeatCAT]

I have a laptop and a desktop which are directly connected with a cat-5 cable.the laptop IP is 192.168.0.2/24 and the desktop IP is 192.168.0.3/24 so far the laptop can ping with the desktop, but not the other way around . i need help finding the program\firewall or other reason it doesn't work. help would be GREATLY welcome. thanks!

 

[SupportChic]

Are you using a crossover cable?

 

[CaptainNat]

Yup, you need a crossover cable to directly connect the two computers.

 

[DogeatCAT]

what's a crossover cable? u mean an ethernet cable or something else? i have an ethernet cable plugged into both computers, anything else no.

 

[SupportChic]

If you don't want to use a switch, hub or router, you'll need a crossover cable...it's ethernet, but wired differently to allow 2 way traffic.

 

[DogeatCAT]

so does that means just plugging an ethernet cable into the ethernet port of both computers won't let me network them?

 

[CaptainNat]

That's correct. If you want to directly connect the two computers, you need to use a crossover cable. Same jacks and cable as what you have now, except the wires inside are set up differently. Wires 12345678 map to 36145278 on the other end. If you've never made one, then you probably don't have loose rj-45 connectors and a crimper lying around. I would recommend going to the local electronic store and buying one instead.

Are these computers connected to the Internet?

 

[TerryNet]

The cable could be bad but since ping one way works this is NOT a cross-over vs. straight cable issue. Most recent ethernet adapters are auto-sensing, and it only takes one to make the cable type a non-issue.

Switch cable ends between the computers and see whether the one-way ping stays constant (probable firewall problem) or changes direction (bad cable).

What firewall(s) are you using? If you're not sure, look in the tray or notification area and in add/remove programs for terms like firewall, security suite, Norton, Symantic, McAfee, Zone Alarm, etc.

 

[CaptainNat]

Yes, that's true. Some newer NICs provide an internal crossover detection and correction. Look for the notation Auto-MDI/MDI-X or some other auto uplink notation on the NIC box.

But we are assuming that the NIC has this. If it does, great, the crossover cable isn't going to hurt. If it doesn't, great, the crossover cable will provide connectivity.

So to recap, there could be two things to look at here. Firewall software and Cabling. Certainly, if a firewall is installed on one of the machines and not the other, this could be blocking the ICMP traffic. Norton is notorious for this. This would prevent an echo reply from the firewalled machine. If that is the case, disable the firewall and try to establish connectivity again. If this doesn't work, then we digress to the OSI layer 1 issue here....the cabling.

 

[DogeatCAT]

well i don't think the firewall is a problem cuz i only have the windows 1 on the laptop and the mcafee is disabled on the desktop. the computers have been networked before cuz i've played games against my friend with them, but i used his cable. i though his was a regular ethernet but it only worked 1 day and the next it was like it is now. i'm pretty sure my ethernet cable is good. i'll try switching the ends to see if i get ping.

 

[DogeatCAT]

wow! ok yea when i switched cable ends the desktop Sent=4 Recieved=4 and the laptop timed out. so that means a bad cable?

 

[TerryNet]

If the ping is now working/failing in the opposite direction, I can't think of what else it could be other than bad cable. If you are going to buy a new one, and don't know for sure that one of your adapter's is auto-sensing, follow CaptainNat's advice and get a cross-over.

 

[DogeatCAT]

ok i tried it with a different cable and got the same results. so it must be the type of cable. which means i need to buy what kind of cable?

 

[TerryNet]

Cross-over ethernet cable. It should say "cross-over" on the package and on the cable. Wal-Mart probably won't have one, but Best Buy, Radio Shack, computer shops and the like will.

Be sure to post back after getting another cable. I'm obviously surprised that a straight (patch) cable yielded a ping one way when a cross-over is needed. But that hasn't yet been completely proven.

 

[Couriant]

Just an FYI, I was helping DogeatCAT off the forums before hand and told him to post here.

I'm intrigued that the cable is at fault. Since it pinged one way I thought he had the right cable to begin with. But it would explain the problem (with autosensing ports) because he doesn't have a firewall enabled.

 

[DogeatCAT]

ok i'll get 1 but i'm gonig out of town in a day or so so i'll get 1 in a week probably. i'll let ya'll know when i do. thanks so much! Happy new year!

 

[Couriant]

hey if you do go to a store, take your cable with you and see if they can quickly test it if they have a cable tester.

Or you can do it yourself if you can see the colors in the RJ Jacks


if you want

 

[DogeatCAT]

ok will do. thanks so much for earlier. i say things i've never seen lol. see ya!

 

[DogeatCAT]

Saw* i can't type

 

[DogeatCAT]

ok, i have a cross over cable that i think works. my friend made it but i think it's good cuz both computers now ping w\ each other. both get sent=4 recieved=4 lost =0. and now pc1 (desktop) can see the shared doc's on pc2 (laptop) but not the other way around. should i do the "create network wizard" or is there something else?